The present invention is a theft-protection and package-tracking device and service that allows e-commerce consumers the opportunity to take control of their package's security, without having to let delivery drivers into their homes, be sure they are home for the package delivery or be inconvenienced by having it delivered to an alternate address to avoid having the package stolen. The theft-protection and package-tracking device is equipped with a built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) and image-capturing technology that gets placed in the package of an item(s) being shipped from an e-commerce shipping facility.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales represent up to nine percent (9%) of retail sales. A 2017 USA Today article reported that package theft affects nearly one third of Americans. U.S. Homeowners ship an average of twenty-seven (27) packages to their homes each year and according to August Home Inc. Eleven million (11,000,000) packages were stolen in 2016. Forty-two percent (42%) of thefts happened to city dwellers, twenty-six percent (26%) of the stolen packages happened in the suburbs and nineteen percent (19%) in rural areas. With the average value of packages costing two hundred dollars ($200 USD) or more to replace, eighty percent (80%) of homeowners in the August Home study mentioned they would invest in smart home technology to increase package security and twenty-eight (28%) of those surveyed mentioned that it would be ideal if delivery services could leave packages directly inside their home. The present invention was created to address this problem and put the tracking and security of a consumer's shipped package in the hands of the consumer.